But I the LORD will speak the word which I will speak, and it will be performed: The people’s proverb implied that all the prophecies they heard were false. God responds in verse 24 by saying there will never be any more false prophets in Israel. Here he says they will only receive prophecies that come from him, and he will make them come to pass. Some versions omit the Hebrew particle ki rendered But. Here it is better rendered as a logical connector (for example, “For” or “Because”) or as an emphatic marker (for example, “Surely”). International Children’s Bible has a logical connection here, rendering verses 24-25a as “24 There will be no more false visions or pleasing prophecies inside the nation of Israel. 25 This is because I, the Lord God, will speak. What I say will be done” (similarly New American Standard Bible, Revised English Bible, Jerusalem Bible/New Jerusalem Bible). Others make the logical connection slightly differently; for example, New Living Translation has “24 There will be no more false visions and flattering predictions in Israel. 25 For I am the LORD! If I say it, it will happen” (similarly King James Version / New King James Version). Either rendering is acceptable. A model that renders ki as an emphatic marker is “24 There will be no more false visions or misleading prophecies in Israel. 25 Yes indeed, I, Yahweh, will speak to them, and I will make it happen.”

It will no longer be delayed: When God predicts something, he will cause it to happen “without any delay” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh; similarly New International Version). This clause may be rendered “There will be no more delays” (similarly Good News Translation) or “I will no longer delay doing it.”

But in your days, O rebellious house, I will speak the word and perform it: What God predicts will happen while the people are still alive. The pronoun your refers to both the Israelites in Judah and those in exile with Ezekiel (see verse 22). In your days may be rendered “in your own lifetime” (New Living Translation) or “while you all are still alive.” For rebellious house, see Ezek 12.2. It may be more natural to put this phrase at the beginning of the verse by saying “Listen, you rebels. I, Yahweh, will speak….”

Says the Lord GOD: This solemn pronouncement emphasizes that God speaks these words (see the comments on 5.11). Here it may be rendered “This is what I, the Lord Yahweh, declare” or “(This is the solemn declaration of the Lord Yahweh).”

Quoted with permission from Gross, Carl & Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Ezekiel. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Therefore say to the house of Israel: Here God begins to give Ezekiel a message for the house of Israel, that is, all “the Israelites” (Good News Translation; see Ezek 14.4).

Thus says the Lord GOD: This message begins with the same prophetic formula as in verse 4 (see the comments there).

Repent and turn away from your idols: Repent renders the Hebrew verb that often means “return,” but here it is used in the technical sense of turning away from sin and returning to God. Some languages may require an object for this verb, saying “Turn back to me.” The two occurrences of turn away render a causative form of the same verb. This threefold repetition of the verb, all in the imperative form in Hebrew, puts great emphasis on God’s command for the people to repent. For idols see Ezek 14.3.

And turn away your faces from all your abominations is literally “and cause your faces to turn away from….” Your faces is the object for both occurrences of the verb turn away. The people must turn away from their idols and their abominations. The central meaning of the Hebrew word rendered abominations focuses on the “disgusting” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version) or “detestable” (New International Version, Moffatt) nature of idols—they are the things God hates (see the comments on 5.9). This word can refer to the idols themselves, or to the things that people did as they were worshiping idols. This clause may be rendered “Stop doing all the things I hate” (New Century Version) or “Turn your back on all the things that disgust me.” Good News Translation combines this clause with the previous one, saying simply “Turn back and leave your disgusting idols.”

Quoted with permission from Gross, Carl & Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Ezekiel. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

And grow up like a plant of the field: In Revised Standard Version this clause continues God’s command to the abandoned child, telling her to thrive and grow to maturity (so also New Revised Standard Version, Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible). Most other translations stop the quote at the end of verse 6 and interpret this clause as a statement of what God did for the abandoned child; for example, Good News Translation says “I made you grow like a healthy plant.” The Hebrew text for this clause reads “I made you a great number [or, size] like the sprouting of the field.” King James Version follows the Hebrew by saying “I have caused thee to multiply as the bud of the field,” and so does New American Standard Bible with “I made you numerous like plants of the field.” However, the renderings of King James Version and New American Standard Bible disturb the flow of the story of the abandoned child. Their interpretation appears to refer to the nation, not to the girl in the story, and so is out of place. The Hebrew word meaning “a great number [or, size]” is the problem here, so Revised Standard Version changes two letters of the word to produce a related verb that means “grow.” Some scholars have suggested that the Hebrew word is a technical term for raising children, and others claim that it is an adjective meaning “grown.” The clause then says “I have raised you…” or “I have made you grown [up]…,” which is the meaning that most of the translations prefer. This is the best interpretation to follow because it fits the story and does not involve changing the Hebrew text. It is best not to follow Revised Standard Version here. The Hebrew expression for a plant of the field does not refer directly to any tree, bush, or grass; rather, it refers to anything that buds and sprouts. There is clearly a play on the idea of the baby who was abandoned “on the open field” (verse 5) now sprouting, coming to life, and growing in the field where she was lying. Translators are encouraged to find some way of reflecting this play on words in their languages. Possible ways to translate this clause include “I raised you as plants grow in a field” and “I took care of you like someone taking care of plants in a field.”

And you grew up and became tall means the girl “grew up and developed” (New International Version) into a mature young woman. There is nothing to suggest that she developed abnormally, or that she grew especially tall. These two clauses may be rendered “and you grew up into an adult.”

And arrived at full maidenhood: Revised Standard Version changes the Hebrew text here, which reads “and you came with the ornament of ornaments.” Translators have struggled with the meaning of this clause in Hebrew. King James Version has “and thou art come to excellent ornaments,” and New American Standard Bible says “and reached the age for fine ornaments.” These two renderings suggest a picture of a woman who was old enough to wear precious jewels, but this strains the Hebrew and does not fit the context, where the girl was still naked and dirty. Other translations take the clause to refer to the beauty of the girl herself; for example, New Century Version says “and became like a beautiful jewel” (similarly New International Version, New Living Translation), which retains some of the Hebrew idiom. New King James Version also refers to the beauty of the girl, but removes the idiom by saying “and became very beautiful” (similarly Contemporary English Version, Bible en français courant). The renderings of New Century Version and New King James Version are satisfactory in the context, but the Hebrew does not actually mean that she became the most beautiful ornament. Rather, it means that she brought or produced the most beautiful of ornaments. In the context the beautiful ornaments refer to the signs of her sexual maturity, namely, her breasts and pubic hair that are mentioned next. This clause points in an erotic way to the fact that the girl was now sexually mature and ready for marriage. It fits the sexual nature of the parable very well but is difficult to translate. As a result, many other translations have used slightly different Hebrew words that look very similar to the original text. The changed text reads literally “and you came to the time of menstruation.” This is the text behind Revised Standard Version. Other versions that follow it are New American Bible (“you came to the age of puberty”), New Jerusalem Bible (“you reached marriageable age” [similarly Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch (1982)]), and Revised English Bible (“You came to full womanhood” [similarly New Revised Standard Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Moffatt]). The message of this clause is the same as the previous two clauses, namely, the girl was now sexually mature and ready for marriage. Most languages should be able to express this meaning in a culturally acceptable way. Two possible models are “and became a young woman” (Good News Translation) and “Your body developed as a woman’s should [or, does].”

Your breasts were formed, and your hair had grown: These two clauses give in more detail the signs of the girl’s sexual maturity—her breasts had developed and her pubic hair had grown. In many cultures it will not be possible for the translation to be as explicit as this. If the breasts cannot be mentioned, it may be possible to speak of the girl having “the body of a young woman,” or to use some other euphemism to show that she was now sexually mature. In translating your hair, care must be taken to avoid giving the impression that it refers to the hair on her head (so Contemporary English Version with “long hair”). Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch (1982) omits these details altogether, but that should be a last resort. Even in cultures where there would be is a strong taboo against being too explicit here, translators may be able to say “You developed the breasts and hair of a grown woman.”

Yet you were naked and bare: Contemporary English Version says “but you were still naked.” The Hebrew words rendered naked and bare emphasize the continuing nakedness of the girl. In fact, the Hebrew is almost crude here because one of the words usually means “genitals.” To reflect this coarse language, translators need to choose a very strong expression, for example, “stark naked” (New Jerusalem Bible). A good model for the whole clause is “but you were still quite naked and exposed” (Revised English Bible).

Quoted with permission from Gross, Carl & Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Ezekiel. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

And they shall burn your houses: This clause may refer again to the girl’s places of prostitution and false worship (see verse 39), but more likely it hints at the historical background of houses in Jerusalem being burned. The pronoun they refers to the girl’s former lovers, now enemies.

And execute judgments upon you in the sight of many women: This clause summarizes the girl’s punishments that have just been described. In order to increase her shame, many women watch her being punished, but this phrase also refers to the many nations that watched Jerusalem being destroyed. This clause may be rendered “and will carry out your punishment in front of many women.”

I will make you stop playing the harlot: Through this punishment God aims to make the girl stop sinning. For playing the harlot, see verse 15).

A model for this verse is:

• They will burn the houses you live in, and many women will watch as you are punished. In this way I will make you stop being unfaithful to me and sinning like a prostitute. Then you won’t even be able to pay others to sin with you, as you have done in the past.

Quoted with permission from Gross, Carl & Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Ezekiel. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Then the word of the LORD came to me: The explanation of the parable begins with a traditional way of introducing a prophecy (see Ezek 17.1).

Quoted with permission from Gross, Carl & Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Ezekiel. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .